Crowdlending (Loan-Based Crowdfunding)

Crowdlending is the form of crowdfunding in which many investors lend money to a business or project through a platform and are repaid their capital with interest on a schedule. In the European Union it is governed by Regulation (EU) 2020/1503: its art. 2(1)(a) lists «the facilitation of granting of loans» among crowdfunding services, and its art. 2(1)(b) defines a loan as an agreement whereby an investor makes an agreed amount of money available to a project owner for an agreed period, and the project owner assumes an unconditional obligation to repay it, with accrued interest, in instalments.

Crowdlending and equity crowdfunding. The other main form under the regulation is the placing of transferable securities and admitted instruments, such as shares in a private limited company (art. 2(1)(a)(ii) and 2(1)(n)). In crowdlending the investor is a creditor; in investment crowdfunding, a shareholder or securities holder. Real estate crowdfunding can use either.

Key EU rules.

• Business funding only: the regulation does not apply when the project owner is a consumer (art. 1(2)(a)).
• Cap: nor does it apply to offers above 5 million euros per project owner over 12 months (art. 1(2)(c)).
• Automatic portfolios: the platform may allocate an investor's money across several loans under an individual mandate (individual portfolio management of loans, art. 2(1)(c)).
• Non-sophisticated investors: above 1,000 euros or 5% of net worth, whichever is higher, they receive a risk warning and give express consent (art. 21(7)), and they have a four-calendar-day reflection period to revoke their offer (art. 22).

In Spain. Law 5/2015, as amended by Law 18/2022, subjects platforms to Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 (art. 46), requires authorisation by the CNMV, the securities regulator (art. 47), and entry in its public register (art. 48), and makes the CNMV the competent authority (art. 49), cooperating with the Banco de España on lending platforms (art. 50). Each project comes with a key investment information sheet (art. 51). Platforms that fund consumers or intermediate offers above 5 million euros operate as «non-harmonised» platforms, without an EU passport (art. 55).

In Latin America.

• Mexico: crowdfunding institutions authorised by the CNBV may run debt funding (art. 16 of the Fintech Law), including debt for real estate development (art. 2(XVIII) of its general provisions).
• Colombia: crowdfunding allows debt securities (art. 2.41.1.1.2 of Decree 2555 of 2010, as amended by Decree 34 of 2025).
• Argentina: the crowdfunding system of Law 27,349 does not allow plain loans: only shares, loans convertible into shares and interests in trusts (arts. 24 and 28).

Crowdlending and tokenization. A bilateral loan is not a transferable security. If the debt is structured as a security, such as a bond, Spain's Law 6/2023 allows it to be represented on distributed ledgers (art. 6(1)), and its placement follows the rules for that security. To build a platform, see tokenized real estate crowdfunding software; for the regulatory fit, regulated tokenization in Spain and tokenized bonds.

Official sources: Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 (BOE); Law 5/2015, consolidated text (BOE); CNMV register of crowdfunding service providers. Framework verified as of 2 October 2026.